Tuning implement



F. W. HALE.

TUNING IMPLEMENT. No. 310,674. Patented Jan. 13, 1885 N. PETERS,Plmlc-blhngmplmr. \Vnshmglmv. D. c.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK \V. .llALE, OF BOS"ON, NASSAPI HlSl l'lllS.

TUNING IMPLEMENT.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,674. datedJanuary 13, 1885.

Application tiled March 31, IPF-l.

To (LZZ whom Hwy concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK XV. lliupn, of Boston, county of Suffolk, andState of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement inTuning Implements, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of the same, in whicl1- Figure 1 is a view in perspective ofmydevice applied to a piano-pin. Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section,and Fig. 3 is a top view, of the face of it, which is uppermost when inuse.

My invention relates to implements used by tuners of stringedinstruments, and the object thereof is to perfect an implement speciallysuited to effect various operations in the repair of such instruments,reference being had specially to pianos; and my invention consists in animplement provided with devices for properly attaching the st rings tothe pins upon which they are wound, a device to hold the pins as theyare driven home, and other features, as shall be hereinafter de scribed.

In the drawings, A represents a plain bar or shank of metal, havingformed therein an opening, a, preferably a round hole of Size adapted tothe general size of the pins upon which the wires of pianos are wound;or the opening may be in the form of a notch or pocket, leaving theadjacent metal in the form of a hook, as shown by dotted lines in Fig.3. Near the margin of this hole or notch upon one side of the bar is araised lug, b, one side of which, in a line tangential to the adjacentmargin, is notched or grooved more or less deep. It is sufficient ifthis grooving be enough merely to prevent a wire bearing against theside of the lug from slipping off.

The purpose of this device is as follows: The wires for pianos beinggenerally of steel more or less tempered, to wind their ends upon thepins in a neat workmanlike manner is often a very difficult matter,especially if the wires are the large heavy ones-rendering the bassnotes; and that a wire when once tuned may not slacke'n and lower itstone it is necessary to have it laid evenly and uni- (No model.)

l'ormly and tightly about the pin, so as to have a continuous bearingaround it. Now, to wind the wire properly around the pin, the end of thewire isv passed through the hole 1: in the pin Il. squared end inanysuitable wrench or pliers. is passed through thehole of the bar andheld in such relation to the bar that the long por tion of the wire liesin the groove w ofthe lug I). Now, by rotating either the pin in thehole or the bar upon the pin in such a direction as shall cause the wireto wind before the lug on the pin, it will be found that the wire willbe laid around and upon the pin in aclose, even, and workmanlike manner.

liano-wires often break very near the pin. It is desirable, then, to beable to unwind enough of the other end of the wire from the other pin toenable the broken end to be remounted on itspin in orderthat the samewire .may still be used; but in this case there is apt to be so littleof one or both endsto be wound on that without bending over the shortends after they are passed through the pins, after the manner of a hook,(see Fig. 1,) they are likely to slip for want of grip on the pins, andso the wire loses tune. Bending these short ends over to form the saidhook by hammer or pliers is apt to break them; but I have found thisdevice most useful in forming the said bend or hook in such manner thata firmhold of the wires upon the pins is obtained. An-

other advantage of all this is that it becomes unnecessary to handle thepins much with the fingers, which handling is aptto leave a moistureupon them, which readily causes them to rust in their socketsa cause ofgreat annoyance in tuning. This device works with pcrfeet ease andalways insures a perfect coil.

Upon the end of the bar I have formed a small clutch, 0, adapted to thegeneral size of piano-pins. l. preferably form it in an offset end ofthe bar, as shown, to adapt it to be ap plied to the piano-pin below theupper end thereof, so that the latter may be exposed to 9 be struck bythehammer when desired. \Vithout some such device to hold the pin fromrotation when it is struck to sink it deeper and more firmly in itssocket, the tension of the wire causes the pin at the sameinstant toturn.

llhepin, then being held by its back,and consequently slacken thetension and lower the tone of the wire, and this often requires so muchturning up again as to loosen again the pin in its socket. By thisdevice I am able not only to hold the pin from turning back when itisstruck, but even to turnit for ward, if need be, at the same instant. Tobe able to do this, leaving the end of the pin exposed, and at the sametime not interfere with other pins, will generally require aconsiderable offsetin the end of the bar. Ihave added,also,a hook, I),for the purpose of drawing the strings over the guide-pins into theirproper places, and a wire-gage to determine the size and caliber of thewires, the latter being either in a separate piece and pivoted upon thebar or formed in the body of the bar.

The above-described devices have resulted from my own experience as apractical tuner and instructor in that art, and are believed to put suchrepairs as the replacing of a broken wire within the skill of anyordinarily-intelligent operator upon pianos.

To secure the best results, I bore the hole a in the bar slightlyinclined toward the axis of it, and in front of the groove in the lug bthe face of the bar is raised slightly above the general surface of it,as clearly shown in the drawings at 1 The operation of this bulge isthat as the wire is being wound on the pin by the rotation of theimplement upon it the bulge precedes the lug 7; and the free end of thewire, and under the pressure, ordinarily exerted endwise, of the pinpushes the previously-wound coils together, so that as the free endfollows it is laid at once close up to close preceding turns, the resultof which is a very close coil, such as is never foundin joints oftelegraph-wire or the coiled barbs on fencewire. The slight inclinationof the hole in the bar also aids this result.

The clutch 0 may be formed with the recess slightly V-shaped to adapt itto various sizes of pins.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desireto secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

1. In a tuners implement, the bar A, having the opening a slightlyinclined to the axis of the bar, the lug b, and the bulge g, as and forthe purposes set forth.

2. A tuners implement comprising the bar having the opening and the lug,the clutch formed in the offset end of said bar, as shown, the hook, andthe gage, all constructed and arranged substantially as and forthepurposcs set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto signed my name inthe presence of witnesses.

FRANK \V. HALE. \Vitnesses:

ALBERT IV. THOMPSON, OLIVER 0. Fi-ins'r.

